Last week, I was sitting at Panera working on some scholarships for my Saturday morning. Funding is always a stressor in the Flight School world, so I am constantly looking for new and creative ways to fund my training. Ive been trying to spend a few minutes everyday focusing on things that make me feel better about my current situation (serenity to accept the things I can’t change, right?) and one of those is working on scholarship applications and looking for some side jobs. At any rate, I had been at Panera for a few hours already and my brain was tapped. I did the ultimate no-no and told myself I would check facebook “real quick”…5 minutes max.
I open the app and the first thing I see is a post on the Treasure Coast Ninety-Nines facebook page from Kaye, whom I had met at the EAA Young Eagles Event last month. She posted “Soaring anyone? Come join me today at New Hibiscus Air Park” and my interest was peaked. I live about twenty minutes from that airport, and had been feeling bummed at being weathered out of 5 flights that week. Ive never been soaring, and other than the usual “when I have all my ratings ill do the add ons” (ie seaplanes, gliders, etc) I really hadn’t considered it as feasible due to prioritizing my money toward this training. I messaged her and asked if I could come visit, and she said yes!
I headed to the airport and met up with Kaye. The airport is a tiny glider field, and a few members of her club were there. Everyone was super welcoming and genuinely excited about soaring. The weather was a little rough that day; we had been in a thunderstorm pattern for a few days already, but they thought we might have enough time to squeeze a flight or two in. Kaye and Eileen went up for a test flight to make sure the winds were safe enough to go soaring in, and then Kaye came back to pick me up!
I was a little nervous to get in the glider just due to the fact that there was not an engine. I was worried it would be a little scary to be up there with what I perceived as no control… LET ME TELL YOU, IT IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!! Kaye is a total bada$$ and was so calm and collected the entire time. We were towed by the “Yellow Gorilla” up to altitude, and then we released the tow. Kaye is an excellent pilot, and was talking me through the whole process so I could learn what she was doing. It was a quick flight due to the weather but it was SO MUCH FUN!! I just can’t believe she gets to do that all the time!
If anyone is ever on the fence, I highly suggest you try it. I am totally sold! It was such a neat feeling to feel the plane literally soaring, without any means of propulsion. All you can hear is the wind whooshing past you and everything below just looks so peaceful. It was exhilarating!
Needless to say, I am adding soaring scholarships to my to-do list!
Rachels Blog 
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